Murdoch faces MPs

Rupert Murdoch will be grilled by MPs today over his involvement in the phone hacking scandal, in one of the most eagerly anticipated select committee sessions ever. The media mogul will be joined at 2.30pm by his son James, who currently serves as chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, in front of the culture, media and sport committee. Rebekah Brooks, the ex-head of News International, is due to follow her former bosses in giving evidence to the committee at 3.30pm. There had been specualtion that the Murdochs could avoid being compelled to appear as they are not British citizens after they initially refused the committee's request to attend. But the committee, chaired by Tory MP John Whittingdale, sent the deputy sergeant-at-arms of the Commons to hand deliver a summons to the two men last week. Such is the interest in the session parliamentary authorities have set aside another committee room as an "overflow" space for journalists and members of the public. The committee's questioning of the Murdochs has generated international interest and a media village has sprung up opposite Parliament. More ominously for Murdoch, allegations that News International titles may have hacked the phones of victims of the September 11 attacks risks damaging his media empire in its American home and his family's privileged position within the company he founded. The session begins at a convenient 9.30am for American's living on the East Coast of the United States and CNN is set to broadcast the session live, as is News Corp's own Fox News. MSNBC, often seen as a liberal alternative to Fox, is reported to be showing portions of the session and American business channels CNBC and Bloomberg are also expected to provide live coverage. Today's showdown will be the first time Rupert Murdoch has given evidence to a Commons committee.